HUGH LAURIE SAYS HE'S BATTLING MINOR DEPRESSION

Brit Hugh Laurie says he misses his family in England and never expected to be away from them for so long. Perhaps that explains why Laurie — who also says he's suffering from a bout of "minor depression" — disappeared from the set of House last week. Laurie returned to work Monday after an unexpected trip across the pond to visit his wife and three children. His hiatus disrupted production on House, but a rep for the star would only attribute his absence to an undisclosed family matter.

"What usually happens is: you do a pilot and, of the very few picked up, only about a quarter go to a second year. So I thought I'll have three fun weeks. I never dreamt I'd be here three and a half years later. But I do go back and forth as much as possible, as do my wife and kids," Laurie said in an interview with Sunday's Sydney Daily Telegraph.

Laurie told the Telegraph, "I can't switch off. I'm always thinking about the show. I'm too neurotic and anal and too convinced we're going to fail to relax. Every show we do is a disaster, I'm convinced of it. I go home and my head is full of all the mistakes I've made."